Pritzker sticks to agenda, more data comes from Commerce

Pritzker sticks to agenda, more data comes from Commerce

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When Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker released her “Open for Business Agenda” last year, she identified the unleashing of data and accessibility to it as a priority for her and her team. Pritzker and the Department have since followed through on that promise.

This week, the Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis, BEA, released two new data products aimed at giving additional insight into the performance of the U.S. economy. It was the first time that BEA has released quarterly estimates of the economic activity generated by 22 industries; construction, educational services, finance, health care, retail, transportation and the arts.

“BEA’s new data products are the latest example of how Commerce is working to produce innovative, timely and relevant statistics that serve as a crucial tool for policy-makers at the local, state and national level,” a Commerce Department release said.

The Gross Domestic Product data shows how different industries and fields either hurt or helped the economy’s growth in a given quarter.

“These new statistics will enable industries in all sectors to better measure their contributions to GDP and understand and identify emerging trends more quickly,” the release said. “This economic intelligence can help make businesses more competitive and innovative, as well as guide their decisions about investing and hiring.”

The Department also released officially for the first time inflation-adjusted estimates of personal income for states and metropolitan areas. This kind of information will be useful to those looking to relocate cities, or businesses thinking of expanding to new locations.

Since Pritzker took office nearly one year ago, she has spoken to more than 1,000 CEOs and business leaders across the country.